No Title Set

Stahlritter said he could arrange a site for scanning. A slightly more remote spot that isn't really far out. Secure, off-grid. You know, the sort of place where things can be contained if something goes wrong.

And this brings the Magus, Knight and Android to the abandoned warehouse in the industrial district, filled with decrepit piles of junk and what have you. ... Well, somehwat. Conspicously, there's been a large clearing made in the middle of it all, with larger piles of junk set up to the sides of the thing. Someone's been busy clearing up.

Oh yeah. Stahlritter might have mentioned something about this being formerly Yakuza property.

The veil of ignorance that keeps normals from recognizing magical girls can be *super* useful. Where a young redheaded possibly-foreign girl would be remarked upon heading into an Abandoned Warehouse in the Abandoned Warehouse District -- because really, who goes there *without* sketchy intentions? -- if one of th city's legion of mahou are flying toward an abandoned warehouse, the citizenry of Tokyo can be counted upon to shrug, maybe snap some pictures, and otherwise assume that whatever's going on in there is going to sort itself out.

Handy!

Thus it is that Rashmi flits to a light landing inside the cleared circle, eyebrows rising at the signs of habitation, wings of sun-colored light fluttering just a bit as she touches down. "So..... This is where you wanted to do the scan?"

Emi is here of course, otherwise it would be a bit of a waste unless Stalhritter really wanted to show off this 'abandoned' warehouse to Rashmi. She's wearing what is likely the least cute thing she's had on since her shopping trip, a very simple black skirt and matching t-shirt with no accessories, simply the bare bones basics.

She arrives only moments after Rashmi does. Her eyes make a quick pass through over the stuff piled around the cleared area only to land near Rashmi and Stahlritter. In fact she lands exactly equally distant to each of them so that they're each offset from her at a 60 degree angle, effectively arranging the three of them in a perfect equilateral triangle.

Why? No more reason than because it amuses her.

"I have arrived." Her head turns towards Rashmi, "Is there anything that needs done in order to prepare?"

Stahlritter being in the frame of mind that he is in, lately, is naturally here in full Knight Armor once more, with his partially-bared arms crossed together over his chest as the redhead and the android arrive.

"This area is contained enough on itself that we can pull damage control easily in the event of a catastrophic reaction," he tells RAshmi, thus. "So, yes. Better here than in an apartment in the middle of the most crowded district of Tokyo."

"You're not wrong," Rashmi says, the corner of her mouth twitching upward as the android assumes a mathematically perfect distance between them. "Oh! I see someone took you shopping, Emi? That's wonderful! And no, there's not really anything special you need to do, just... Let's step elsewhere to do this."

And held against her chest, Nicomachea's cabochon lights up, almost-English lettering echoing his words as a magic circle spreads out from beneath Rashmi's feet;

*bing!* << TIME-SPACE BARRIER >>

This Barrier is vastly smaller than the two-city-block ones normally used to contain a battlefield. Its edges, in fact, more or less halt at the edge of the cleared space around them. Letting out a breath, Rashmi opens the book. "Okay.... Nicomachea, first let's zero out the background magic?"

*bing!* << CALIBRATING, MASTER, >> the book replies, and screens begin to flicker into view above the book's pages; nearly a dozen in total, with the lower-left apparently stuck on a still image of a tiny tiny kitten with one paw on a tennis ball nearly as tall as it.

"Alexis helped me when I went shopping," Emi replies. "It was very informative, though I have many questions to ask of you once more important matters are attended to."

The barrier goes up and Emi studies the wall of it for a moment. "An artificial construct dimension mimicking our previous location in most ways." She is still and quiet for a brief moment, "All systems nominal. This space does not appear to have an unintended effect on my functions."

As Nicomachea calibrates Emi removes her glasses, her own scanning coming to a halt so as not to interfere. It is unlikely that Nichomacea wouldn't be able to filter it out, but Emi seems to have a sense of what a proper testing space should involve. Then, perhaps to Stahlritter's momentary shock, she begins removing her t-shirt and skirt. She starts with the t-shirt, pulling it up and off and revealing right from the start that her grey unitard is worn beneath.

The black clothes are tossed a couple meters away, the shirt landing over the skirt, and the glasses are tossed carefully into their center.

Stahlritter remains standing more or less still, with his arms crossed together. His biggest contribution to this was already more or less dealt with before Rashmi even got here, so now he's here 'just in case'. As you do.

He even ignores the part about-- questions Emi evidently has. Because reasons.

He can't quite help but point one metallic finger towards one of the screens that popped up from Nicomachea, however. The one with the kitten.

"WHat's that for?"

And when Emi starts stripping? Nope. Not even taking any chances, here. The very *instant* she grabs at the lower hem of the t-shirt, the large Knight just smooooothly spins himself around, so that he is facing very much *away* from her.

"Stress control," Rashmi says offhandedly, paying *lots* more attention to her unmoving screens when Emi starts stripping. "U-um... In combat sometimes I start to panic and lock up, and Nicomachea short-circuits that by showing me cute videos." She clears her throat and looks up just a bit.... then blinks. "Oh. Stahlritter she's still got her bodysuit on it's okay."

With Stahlritter's safety established, Rashmi takes a small step back. "Okay," she says, as Nicomachea starts to float up off her hand. "We're calibrated, the baseline's established, and we're good to go. Just hold still... this should probably only take a few minutes at most."

And with that, another circle spreads out underneath her feet... Though this time it's echoed by a smaller one under EMI, which seems to sprout loops of rune-printed ribbon sketched in golden light. Four in total, that lazily circle around the android's ankle level, clearly in idle mode. "Nicomachea -- Mana Investigation."

*bing!* << MANA INVESTIGATION >>

And the ribbon-loops rise, and the screens explode into frantic activity; pie charts, bar charts, supra-dense text scrolling up, a silhouette of Emi's outline covered in wavering colored auras... A trained and dedicated Support Mage would have difficulty following it all, and it's quite evident that Rashmi is neither. Apparently, she's just waiting to be told what's baseline and what's anomalous, and go from there.

"I am wearing my testing uniform," Emi states simply. "In most situations it is bland and overly revealing, but this is one where it performs it's designated function." Using cute videos to help keep her head in combat? Emi will have to remember that, it's a good tip.

Emi does as she's told and stands very still after that, though it doesn't mean she's doing nothing. Her view of Rashmi's screens are mirrored, viewed from the opposite end, but that's little impediment to her ability to read and understand them.

As the runes rise up around Emi her they'll find that she's built of magically reinforced metals and composites, similar to the materials both Midchildan and Belkan devices but different from each. The underlying structures make even more obvious that her origin is separate from those, however. The magic system used to create her was obviously completely unrelated-- not that that should come as any kind of surprise.

There are nodes spread across her legs, and indeed the rest of her body, that account for her ability to fly, miniaturized versions of what one might expect to find on a futuristic hover car, plane, or spaceship. While around her legs the ribbons would also see the first signs of something anomalous- a form of residual hyper-dimensional energy. It's very weak but even so may complicate the scan- where it's present it almost seems as if Emi is being very slightly pulled out of the barrier Rashmi has set up. It's not near enough to overcome it, but it's a sure sign of some kind of dimensional instability.

Once the ribbons reach her torso some of the bars and graphs will start to go crazy, likely needing rescaled or simply altered to include an exponential Y axis. This would be where her actual mana reserves are held, and the amount is simply staggering. If Rashmi had ever gotten a good scan of a cartridge it might look similar. The mana density isn't as compact as that, but Emi herself is clearly much, much larger than a bullet.

Emi meanwhile is shifting her attention between the video of the kitten and the baseline reading she's being compared to. They are equally amusing to her.

"Good lord," Rashmi breathes as the scan reaches Emi's torso. "Emi.... remember what I said about people wanting to use you just for your capacity? Well... You're storing so much raw mana I can't even imagine what would happen if it was all put to use at once. ...But I'm pretty sure entire countries wouldn't survive."

As though sensing Emi's attention on the screen, Nicomachea swaps out the kitten still for a pair of black kittens bumble-playing, with the most adorable threat displays. "Also," Rashmi speaks up, "I'm not.... really sure what's going on, but you're kind of warping dimensional space around your legs, Emi. Like... it's putting a little bit of stress on the Barrier. Not much, but it's noticeable. Can you think of any reason why that might be?"

"I will endeavor not to allow my energy to be used by people who seek to harm others," Emi replies simply. Then she frowns slightly. She was supposed to be still.

The picture of the kitten changes to one of two kittens playfighting. 'Roughhousing is allowed by the rules,' she thinks to herself of the ECFH. Those kittens would be right at home there.

When asked a question she decides answering probably takes precedence over remaining still. "The first memories I retained are of being adrift in space near a very large but decaying hyperspace anomaly. I am unsure as to its nature, but if contamination remains after such a long time it is likely I was present for it's formation. My hypothesis of a near miss seems to have been mistaken."

Behind all the mana is more mechanics- Rashmi could likely figure out what happens to the food she eats and the air she breathes if she spent enough time going over the diagnostics. It also appears that the residual energy is all over her, though chaoticly and uneven. That might actually be a good thing- it's indicative of a natural decay process, as true randomness is very hard to find in anything artificial.

Emi ceases speaking as the ribbons continue to travel upwards. In her head is what one might to expect of an android build in humanoid form: her processing centers and memory storage. It's all nano-scale and exceedingly complex, but again not entirely dissimilar from what one might find in an Intelligent Device.

In fact it's almost eerily similar to the processing centers of an Intelligent Device, her computers and memory powered and regulated by the flow of mana. The most obvious and surprising thing, unless Rashmi was expecting it, would be that although her processors are being powered by mana, they are producing it in more than equal measure and with a waveform that clearly matches what's stored inside of her.

"It kind of sounds like to me that something's trying to anchor her into the base dimension," Stahlritter's artificially booming voice suggests. "I am no physician, but I feel like a dimensional anomaly would cause an opposite effect, would it not?"

"Physicist," Rashmi corrects absently. "And honestly I can't even make sense of five words in twenty of most of this. ......Kind of wish I had ready access to a Meister, they might at least be able to translate these readings."

Shaking her head, she waits until the scan collects all the data it seems it's going to, then lets the spell collapse. "Okay... we already knew that there wasn't going to be anything like you on record, Emi... But whatever civilization made you? They were beyond the brightest minds Midchilda or Belka would ever imagine. You're producing more mana than your body *needs,* you realize.... With your storage capacity, I would honestly say that if you wanted, you *could* either use an Intelligent Device, or even do the math yourself. All you'd need is some kind of way to actually output the energy."

Letting Nicomachea drop into her hand, she banishes all the screens with a wave.... except for one of a hopping cluster of baby otters. "What bothers me is that dimensional weirdness. If I had to guess, I'd say it's responsible for that damage to your memory, but I have to wonder how close you actually were to the thing that made it; the 'radiation' is distributed evenly unevenly, y'know?"

"I believe that would normally be the case," Emi replies to Stahlritter, "If your planet were not shrouded by it's own hyperdimentional instability."

She shakes her head a little at the idea of using an Intelligent Device. "I am entirely capable of performing the calculations necessary to cast a spell, but as you say I have no method of actually casting it. What you are suggesting is analogous to suggesting an electric battery could make a very good light source. It could, if only it had the entire apparatus needed to convert electric energy into photonic energy, but that would make it a light source, not a battery."

She looks over to Stahlritter for a moment before adding, "I am capable of lifting very heavy loads and moving very quickly in flight, because that functionality was built into me."

Emi nods a little at the mention of the dimensional oddity having damaged her memory. "That was what I presumed. If I was nearer to it than I had thought it might explain why I cannot remember anything prior to that moment." A small frown is made, "I have just attempted to access my earlier memories once more, but was again unable to do so. The data corruption appears too heavy, I cannot even remember what the memories should be. It is very frustrating."

With the scan complete and Nicomachea in standby mode Emi retrieves her skirt and t-shirt and puts them back on, along with her glasses. "I understand that you are having difficulty understanding my inability to use magic. I could demonstrate if you wish, but it would require allowing me access to one of your Devices." She looks between Rashmi and Stahlritter.

*bing!* << GUEST MODE -- SUBJECT 'Emi' REGISTERED >> Nicomachea chirps, for some reason using *Rashmi's* voice to name the android rather than his own.

Handing the book over, she shakes her head. "That's not *quite* what I mean, though. It's like... Right now, you're as much a Mage as I was before I found Nicomachea. I had the capacity, but I didn't have the means or reason to make use of it. If we could figure out the means, I'm pretty sure a Meister could make a kind of siphon that would work as an Intelligent Device adapter, y'know? But demonstrate. And Nicomachea? Record, please."

Emi accepts Nichomachea as the book is handed to her and smiles slightly as she's registered as a guest. She's been very glad to receive so much help in understanding herself better, but this is a level of trust that she wasn't entirely sure if she would be given. Having friends- it is a nice thing.

Once she is granted guest access she begins speaking telepathically with the Device for expediency sake, 'Please give me a list of basic spells you are compatible with.'

A moment later Emi holds her hand out in front of herself and announces, "Round Shield." Energy flows from Emi, through Nichomachea, and back to Emi, the android allowing the Device to perform all the calculations for her.

And then... nothing. No not-English runes or arcane circles and symbols forming in the air, no defensive barrier. Just a very well calibrated bit of mana sitting inside Emi that quickly reverts back to a normal storage state.

"Do you see? A Linker Core is more than just a regulator of magical energies- it contains within it the very means to transform magical energy into a spell. I do not have the ability to 'cast' magic, for lack of a better term." Emi tilts her head a little, "But it seems you already understood this, and it was my mistake. Yes, if there were some means of creating and installing an artificial Linker Core within me, then I would be able to use magic in the manner of a Mage. There is also another way."

Emi once more begins speaking with Nichomachea telepathically- though speaking isn't actually the right word for it. Instead she's transmitting a very long and complex series of various handshake signals, transitioning from speaking to the Support Device as a guest user and instead attempting to connect with it as one device to another.

The look in Emi's eyes is rather distracted and far away, and Nichomachea is likely reporting to Rashmi what is happening. Eventually her blank expression fades and she smiles. "Link established." She sets her hand on Nichomachea's pages and runes of not-English and an entirely different, other not-English form appear in traces around it before whatever language the second one is translates to Midchildan.

There's an almost fiery spark in Emi's eyes, "Round Shield!" This time there's another, much more powerful flow of energy from Emi, and this time she isn't relying on the Support device to do the calculations for her. Instead she's transmitting the mana exactly as is required through Nichomachea--

And through Rashmi. It might feel like something of a punch to the chest to the Mage as the energy pours into her Linker Core, especially if Nichomachea failed to warn her. It would feel almost exactly the same as if she had used a Cartridge system, with all the benefits and drawbacks associated, and a brilliant shield forms in front of the redhead, interposing itself between her and Stahlritter, acting as if he was some kind of threat while it lasts. It's also exceedingly strong as might be expected of an enhanced shield.

A moment later and the shield fades, and Emi takes her hand from the page of the Support Device and offers it back to Rashmi. "I was able to 'cast' in that manner in the same way most Devices are capable of protecting their Masters." Technically it was really Rashmi the one casting the spell though, something she would no doubt understand intrinsically, though Stahlritter might not have noticed unless he was watching the mana flow with his visor.